What if Alaric and Jeremy never barged in?
by Something Illusory
Summary: —2x21 DE scene uninterrupted— Still in his arms she was carried through the doors of the old house and as he did so he leaned down and whispered, "Come back as a vampire and I'll stake you myself. So don't."


"I need you to get her out of here."

His brother's words replayed over and over in his head, repeating his mission for tonight. Indeed, his mission was to protect Elena. To get her as far away from Klaus and that damn sacrificing hell hole as far as possible. He had scooped up her lifeless body in his arms, nearly having a stroke as he watched her head fall unnaturally crooked. She looked like a corpse.

And she was.

Damon didn't feel the need to take his time on the way back to the house. He had to rush, simply because he was a nervous wreck. The person he cared about more than anything - no, scratch that - the only woman to ever touch his heart was dead. She was dead and there was nothing he could do about it, except wait for her to wake up as a vampire. He had little faith in John's whole plan which meant he could only believe that his blood would allow her to wake up in transition.

Something he really, really didn't want. He had once told her that even though she would hate him forever for forcing his blood on her, she would eventually forgive him for it. But he lied. He knew she would never forgive him and that tore him into pieces.

Even now looking down at her he can't help but know that he has made the biggest mistake he could ever make with her. Depriving her of everything she could have had definitely topped snapping her baby bro's neck and..well, everything else he's screwed up with her before.

Carrying her into the house, the hair on the back of his neck rises. He quickly scans the house for any signs of life; an instinctual action that allows him to judge if there is any danger nearby. A vampire is at its most lethal only three possible times in their life: One, when family is threatened and/or killed. Two, when they are starving. And lastly, when the person they love is under their protection.

Damon, as you could imagine, was very tense and very predatory. The predator inside of him burned with a rage that shouted 'Anyone that comes too close is getting their face ripped off.'

Knowing Damon he would happily obliged no matter who it was. Elena, though dead, was his to protect now. Come too close and you'll be a goner.

Still in his arms she was carried through the doors of the old house and as done so he leaned down and whispered, "Come back as a vampire and I'll stake you myself. So don't." It was a playful tone - something that cheered him up in the slightest. He frowned deeply at the absence of her heartbeat; a sound he had grown most attuned to. He places her carefully on the couch and stares vacantly at her face. She is sleeping. _Only sleeping_, he reminds himself.

Even in death she was still the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

A long strand of chocolate colored hair falls into her face, so with a gentle touch he tucks it behind her ear. Her skin is still warm, the promise of a body that was freshly killed under 3 hours. He feels like he's losing her even though he knows she will wake up again.

Damon's face twists into pain and he pleads, "'Cause I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever." Oh, why couldn't she hear this? "Wake up, Elena. Come on, sweetheart." His fingers lightly trail down her cheekbone. "Wake up_ human_. You are going to be living and breathing… I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry.." he whispers, cradling her face against his hand like a tiny child cradling a baby bird.

That is what she was: Damon's baby bird. The helpless, stubborn, and beautiful little baby bird that needed to be protected. He needed to care for her, to whisper to her soft melodies that would ensure she would open her wings and take flight. Oh, God. What if she didn't wake up human? What if she turned? He couldn't do that to her. Why was he so selfless? Why didn't he just listen to Elena and give in to Elijah's elixir? Look where his rash, idiotic self brought him. Holding the woman he loves lifeless in his arms with only he to impatiently wait for her to open those beautiful eyes and peer up at him.

And then…

she does.

Elena's eyes snap open and her chest rises off of the couch, her mouth sucking in air at an unhealthy rate. A wheezing noise explodes from her and Damon's eyes frantically find hers. She looks around the room in confusion and mouths his name "Damon…." and then finally she finds her voice. "Damon?"

Her eyes meet his and she can't look away as she finds great refuge there. In his eyes there is frantic love, curiosity, desire, loyalty…but mostly there is fear. "How do you feel?" he breaths, blue eyes switching between the two of hers.

Her chest heaves with the heavy panting she's doing. It is as if she can't get enough oxygen to her lungs. She nods, "I feel fine."

She watches as the relief crashes over his face. It's as though he was holding his breath that entire time, deciding that now he could release it. She can't believe it: she's not in transition. Everything Damon had so easily taken away from her was given back. She could live. She was living!

"Damon." she smiles now, still panting heavily. "Damon, I'm alive. I'm alive."

He nods carefully. "You don't feel different or…sick..or…you feel human? You're okay?"

Before she can answer, the steady sound of drumming fills his ears. The vampire side of him hears this sound and tries to make his teeth ache, trying to will him into taking a bite of the fragile human in front of him. But he is much stronger than this side and only hears the sound as the promising_ thump thump thump_ of Elena Gilbert's heart. The very heart he had wished so many times to be his.

"No." she shakes her head, and reaches for the hand that is curved around her cheek. She holds it in hers, squeezing it tightly. "I'm alive." she smiles, as if he's missed it the first time.

"I know." A small smile tugs at his lips and then slowly fades. "I thought I lost you."

Her forehead crumbles into two thick lines. "I would have came back as a vampire."

His eyes don't meet hers. "Hating me forever.." and suddenly he swallows thickly. She can't bear the sight of him. Why was he so..emotional? She was alive! She was human! Surely he should be happy? "Elena, I'm so sorry. I never…I…I'm sorry. I don't know what I'd do if you came back as a vampire. I've been a nervous wreck. Can you forgive me?"

She stares into his eyes and finds honesty there. _He isn't lying,_ she realizes. _He truly wants forgiveness._ But could she forgive him? Could she really forgive him for selfishly forcing blood into her mouth knowing that she was going to die with it in her system?

Seeing him now, weak and helpless, she can't help but forgive him. She can't help it because she knows that he did it to protect her - to promise himself that he wasn't losing her forever. Selfish as it may have been…she can't blame him for doing it out of….love. She nods and decides, "I forgive you."

He doesn't say anything, only closes his eyes and allows the squeeze of her hand to be the only thing he feels.

She watches him softly, knowing that it would have happened anyway. She would have forgave him as a vampire or a human. It didn't matter if she knew it was purely out of love. She would always forgive him.

Always.


End file.
